Bethlehem.

This was one of my favorite field trips. We went to Manger Square, which is a city square in the middle of Bethlehem. I would love to be there around Christmas time to experience that atmosphere, but experiencing it in November was pretty awesome too. We went to the Church of the Nativity, which is traditionally considered where the cave Jesus Christ was born in. Although we aren’t sure exactly the location, being in the church and seeing so many people coming to worship and see the cave was really cool to me. I could see the happiness from one woman showing her son the spot. We went downstairs and sang some Hymns, which could be heard from above. Experiencing that was so cool to me.

After that we went to Shepherd’s field where the angel could have appeared to the Shepherds. This place holds a special place in my heart. We read Luke 2 and although I have read/heard it my entire life, reading it in a field was super powerful to me. I will never be able to read that part of the nativity story the same again. Upon reading it, the word joy really popped out to me and it finally clicked how Christ is the Shepherd. The gospel brings so much joy to our lives and following Him will ultimately bring us joy. He truly wants us to be happy and that hit me so hard in that field. I love Bethlehem.